Behind every destination we cover there are communities whose daily lives continue whether or not visitors arrive. Social responsibility, for us, starts with keeping that fact firmly in view rather than treating a place purely as a collection of attractions.
Representing places fairly
It is easy for travel writing to flatten a destination into a handful of familiar images. We try to resist that tendency, describing the ordinary alongside the remarkable and acknowledging complexity where it exists rather than smoothing it away for the sake of a tidier narrative.
Supporting local economies
Where relevant, our guidance points readers towards choices that channel spending into local businesses and communities, whether that means favouring smaller neighbourhoods over saturated tourist strips or encouraging longer stays that allow more of a trip's budget to circulate locally.
- Describing communities with nuance rather than simplification
- Encouraging spending that benefits local businesses
- Avoiding language that treats residents as background detail
- Considering the cumulative impact of visitor numbers on daily life
- Listening to how destinations themselves wish to be represented
A destination is a home to someone, long before it is a photograph.
Internally, too
Social responsibility also shapes how we work internally, from the care we take in commissioning and editing to the standards we hold ourselves to when representing places we have not necessarily visited ourselves. We try to research thoroughly rather than rely on assumption.
We recognise that we will not always get this balance perfect, and we welcome the responsibility of continuing to improve how we represent the places and people at the heart of our coverage.
A standard we hold ourselves to
Ultimately, social responsibility is less a policy than a habit of mind we try to apply consistently, page after page, destination after destination.